having little height, distance, or length
The boy is short for his age.
This phone cable is too short to reach the sofa.
✦ Old English ‘sceort’, of Germanic origin, related to Dutch ‘schort’ and German ‘schurz’, meaning ‘short garment’.
lasting only a small amount of time
We had a short meeting before lunch.
Please keep your answer short and clear.
not having enough of something that is needed or expected
We are short of milk—could you buy some on the way home?
The project fell short of its targets.
lasting or intended to last only for a brief period
He set some short-term goals to finish by Friday.
Taking painkillers gives short-term relief but won't cure the problem.
✦ Formed by combining the adjective “short” meaning ‘brief’ with the noun “term” meaning ‘period of time’; recorded from the early 20th century.
